Tropical storm Selma made landfall on the coast of El Salvador on Saturday with strong winds, heavy rains and dangerous ocean swells, while another system developing in the Caribbean was on a forecast path toward Cuba and then Florida.
The U.S. National Hurricane Center said Selma hit El Salvador’s coast in the morning before losing strength over land, weakening to a tropical depression with maximum sustained winds of 55 km/h.
The storm’s centre was located about 75 kilometres east of San Salvador, and it was heading northeast at 13 km/h.
Tropical Depression #Selma Advisory 6: Selma Expected to Produce Torrential Rains and Flash Floods Through Sunday. https://t.co/mbw53R5dme
Forecasters said Selma would soak El Salvador, southern Guatemala and southern Honduras and dissipate by Saturday night, and Salvadoran Civil Defence director Jorge Melendez said the rains would be “strong and intense.”
Salvadoran authorities reported some damage, including mudslides, trees that toppled onto roads and rivers threatening to top their banks.
In the Caribbean Sea, meanwhile, tropical depression eighteen formed south of Cuba with winds of 55 km/h, the centre reported. It was forecast to strengthen into a tropical storm and approach the island later in the day.
Tropical storm warnings were in place for parts of Cuba and the Bahamas, and a tropical storm watch was issued for the upper Florida Keys and parts of southeastern Florida.
Heavy rains were expected for the Cayman Islands, western and central Cuba and the northern Bahamas. The centre forecast about 5 to 10 centimetres of rain with higher localized accumulations in South Florida.